South Bend 11" Restoration Started

jaynboom · Nov 21, 2010

I acquired a SB 11" x 4' bed. The model number on the plate says 33AB. According to the serial number, this is a 1935 vintage. The lathe came with LOTS of tooling and change-gears. The man handling the estate was planning to scrap this and other machine tools I bought, if a buyer wasn't found soon.

The ways appear to have little wear, although there is evidence of several dropped chucks. I'm not sure how many years have passed since the lathe was last used. The controls are sticky. The paint looks like heck. The thing was covered in chips, oil and sawdust. The photos actually make the unit look much better than it does in person.

I'm doing a complete tear-down to insure that everything is working as it should, and to strip and paint all the parts. I plan to keep this lathe since the sale included most of the tooling and accessories I might ever need.

(That's not rust on the ways) It's just dried oil.

On to the pics:

jaynboom · Nov 21, 2010

jaynboom · Nov 21, 2010

Okay, I have quite a bit torn down already. This lathe seems incredibly well thought out. Disassembly so far has been a breeze.

I hesitated to pull the bearing caps, but I feel like I had little choice. The lathe is 75 years old, and I wanted to verify the condition of the bearings and if the oilers were working. There was also a bunch of swarf packed under the cone pulleys.

My first question. Should I remove the lower section of the bearings in the headstock or try to work around them? I tapped lightly on the lower bearing supports, but saw no movement. So, I stopped, and now I'm logging in here before I damage something. Can I tap them out using a brass punch?

Next question: How is the back-gear shaft removed. I removed two square (and pointed on the end) bolts from under the shaft supports. That had little effect. So, again, I came here.

I tried to research answers on my own, but there is very little documentation for the 11" on the web. Here's a pic of where I'm at:

rata222 · Nov 21, 2010

Congratulations on getting that lathe, It looks like it is in good shape - you will have a nice machine when it is restored. Have fun and post pics.
Jim

jaynboom · Nov 21, 2010

This was "thrown in" with the lathe package.

Nightshift · Nov 21, 2010

Looks like you have a nice project there. I have two 11" x 60" SB lathes myself ... both with QCGB. One is a floor model which I totally refurbed/modernized and the other is a bench model I bought in the event I need spare parts. You are right that 11"ers are fairly rare birds, and parts for them are even scarcer. This community is a great resource and you will learn a ton by searching and reading the mountains of info here. Best of luck on your project. Cheers, Bill

jaynboom · Nov 22, 2010

Made some progress today. I have all the sub-asemblies off, and I'm starting to work on those.

jaynboom · Nov 22, 2010

Did SB paint the inside of the bed a cream color on some models?

jaynboom · Nov 22, 2010

Okay, here's a question. The bed is easy to work on now, with everything off. Here is a pic of some marks from dropped lathe chucks or parts.

Should I do anything to the bed to confirm the high spots have been knocked off from the "dropped" areas? Can I use layout fluid, and run a stone across it? Or will this remove material from the bed too quickly in surrounding areas?

Sorry for the noob questions. This is my first lathe and lathe-restoration.

Thanks Roy

promacjoe · Nov 22, 2010

if that's the worst of it, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

oil it up, set the saddle on it and move it by hand. If it moves smoothly, leave it alone.

promacjoe

jinglejangle · Nov 22, 2010

sb11

I am in the process of a sb11 tear down and repaint. It is slow going for me due to a lack of time. The inside of my bed was also painted a yellow color. Must have been cheap paint used to cover the unseen areas. Once I took out the two bolts holding the concentric back gear the lever slid out with a little soaking with wd40. Is that an R series? Here is a shot of my back gear from the back side of the lathe. Once the two bolts were removed the shaft and handle came out as one piece. Please post some pics of the apron tear down. I will be taking mine apart this winter.

Good luck,
John

jaynboom · Nov 23, 2010

Thanks for the replies. I have seen reference to "series" on this forum. Could someone explain how to identify the series type I have?

Thanks

Nightshift · Nov 23, 2010

jaynboom said:
Did SB paint the inside of the bed a cream color on some models?

Roy and John, from what I know, all the early lathe beds were painted this creme color on the inside. That is definately original. I have a 29 and a 31, both 11x60 and they had this color on the inside.

Nightshift · Nov 23, 2010

jaynboom said:
Thanks for the replies. I have seen reference to "series" on this forum. Could someone explain how to identify the series type I have?

Thanks

Roy, there is info here on the various series production dates. My 1929 Cat 84-B is an O-Series for example.

Code:

http://www.southbendlathe.com/catalognumbers/catalognum-serieslist.aspx

Steve Wells

Code:

http://www.wswells.com/index.html

is our Southbend guru and keeper of stuff related to SBL. He can better explain the difference in series than me. Cheers, Bill

jaynboom · Nov 23, 2010

I got the first coat of paint on a few parts and the base. I like to brush the first coat to help fill small imperfections in the castings. I went with Rustoleum Smoke Gray. After I mask and spray the next coats, I'll post pics.

Thanks for the answer on removing the back-gear shaft. It popped right out with a small tap of a brass punch.

Can anyone give me some tips on removing the apron handles? I gave some mild taps on two pins, and neither moved. Of course, it's been 75 years since they were put on. Anything I need to know before getting more aggressive?

Are the apron-resevoir gaskets still available? Mine's more than a little brittle. Is there a preferred supplier that most folks here use? Do I go straight to South Bend?

I'll try and document the apron-teardown with pics for "Jingle" and any other 11" owners.

Thanks for the help so far.

Roy

Nightshift · Nov 23, 2010

jaynboom said:
I got the first coat of paint on a few parts and the base. I like to brush the first coat to help fill small imperfections in the castings. I went with Rustoleum Smoke Gray. After I mask and spray the next coats, I'll post pics.

Thanks for the answer on removing the back-gear shaft. It popped right out with a small tap of a brass punch.

Can anyone give me some tips on removing the apron handles? I gave some mild taps on two pins, and neither moved. Of course, it's been 75 years since they were put on. Anything I need to know before getting more aggressive?

Are the apron-resevoir gaskets still available? Mine's more than a little brittle. Is there a preferred supplier that most folks here use? Do I go straight to South Bend?

I'll try and document the apron-teardown with pics for "Jingle" and any other 11" owners.

Thanks for the help so far.

Roy

Roy, be careful on the pins ... many are taper pins if I recall right ... so make sure you tap them out from the small diameter end!

As for gaskets, I think it's best to make your own. You can probably get them from SBL if you want to put a mortgage on your house! Bill

spooky · Nov 24, 2010

I just got a apron gasket for my sb 9" from Ted Pfluger (hope I spelled tha right) if you do a search for "latheman" on this forum you will find him.

Honestly if I had known what the gasket looked like before I bought it, I would have made my own (sorry Ted!) However I got the rest of my felts and oilers from Ted too and I highly recommend him.

Looks like a great project. Can't wait to see it come together.

Cheers,

Chris

paulsomlo · Nov 24, 2010

Roy,

Regarding removal of those pins:

I went through the same ordeal on my 9" model C. First you need to ascertain without a doubt which end of the taper pin is which. I used a 1/16" pin punch (that I had already broken) and cut it back as much as possible until it was just under the diameter of the small end of the taper pin. This will make the pin punch more rigid and give you better control (by virtue of being shorter) when you whack it with the hammer. Place the gearbox on something that doesn't give when your whacking, so that all the force is transmitted to the pin.

Paul

jinglejangle · Nov 24, 2010

taper pins

I took a wire brush to both ends of the taper pins. It is easier to see which end is bigger. Mark both the shaft and the hand wheel before removal. It seems like the taper pins were hand drilled. If you get the hole 180 degress oposite from its former location it may be close but may not totally line up. The taper pin is deformed when you drive it back in and will not fit properly.

John

jaynboom · Nov 26, 2010

Alright. The apron is in pieces. I saved that for after I gained some experience on the other parts. A couple of the tapered pins were pretty tight, but a few sharp smacks took care of those.

I followed this guy's instructions for most of it: Apron

There is one important difference. The ring under the star-knob unscrews in the normal manner, but there is no pin underneath to drive out. The entire gear-assembly then slides out the back.

Do not remove the snap ring behind the clutch-plates. Do not pull the pressed-on gear off the clutch shaft from the back. I did that with a gear-puller before I was finally able to remove the front-ring under the star-knob, the correct thing to do in the first place.

I have felt, wick and lube on the way from McMaster.

So far, so good. I'll update more soon.

Roy

South Bend 11" Restoration Started

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